Jade plant

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Crassula ovata

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Subkingdom:	Tracheobionta
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Subclass:	Rosidae
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Crassulaceae
Genus:	Crassula
Species:	C. ovata

Binomial name

Crassula ovata
(Miller) Druce

Synonyms

Crassula argentea
Crassula obliqua
Crassula portulacea

Commonly known as jade plant or friendship tree, Crassula ovata is a succulent plant that sometimes has small pink or white flowers. The Jade Plant is also sometimes referred to as the "money tree," however the tree Pachira aquatica is the original "money tree."

Jade Plants are evergreen succulents native to South Africa where the environmental conditions are dry with little rainfall.

The plant itself can be identified with thick branches and smooth, rounded and fleshy leaves that grow in opposing pairs along the branches. The species has a jade green color to the leaves, and some species can also develop a red tinge on the edges of leaves when exposed to high levels of sunlight. The growth pattern and structure of the succulent is evenly distributed. Dependent on the environment in which it is in, the plant produces small white or pink star like flowers that adorn the ends of new stalks in the Spring.

Jade plants are popularly used as houseplants around the world. They are propagated by stem or leaf cuttings. As succulents, they require a normal watering when the soil is dry in the summer, and very little watering in the winter. Overwatering will cause them to lose their leaves and eventually the stem will rot away. They will grow in full sun to light shade. However, they do not tolerate extreme heat or overexposure to direct sun very well, showing damage ranging from scorched leaves to loss of foliage and rotting stems. Most of the common species will tolerate a limited degree of frost but overexposure to cold weather will kill them.

Mealybugs are common pests to Jade plants as houseplants and can cause deformation to new growth. Aphids are also common pests, though they tend to infest only the flower stalks.